Employee Giving is the Community Connection Your Company Needs

As a business owner or executive, you know how important having anemployee giving programcan be for the teams you have working within your organization. Corporate social responsibility has become a pivotal piece of employee engagement maintenance and recruitment branding strategies for amazing business reasons, but better business isn’t what is at the heart of community involvement.

The Byproduct of Employee Giving ProgramsIf you’ve spent any time reading our work or exploring our website, you know some of the amazing benefits of enacting a well-suited corporate social responsibility program within an organization. Every year more and more research supports our platform too. For example…

These wonderful effects of employee giving and corporate volunteering programs are byproducts of being a more socially aware company. Employees like knowing their organization not only cares about them, but cares for their causes as well. Consumers are just as interested in choosing to support a company with ethical products or similar values. Remember, though, those shoppers and clients hold more than revenue power; often consumers become brand advocates and even applicants.

The Real Reason Employee Giving Programs WorkCorporate giving programs are great for business and human capital management, but why? Why does participation in the community translate into more loyal and engaged employees and consumers? Heart. It’s no longer about tax breaks, it’s about meaningful connections in a tumultuous world. In 2015, American giving increased 4.1% from the previous year while corporate giving increased 3.9%. No matter the industry or whether you provide a product or service, at our core people are interested in caring for one another.

76% of peoplewho volunteered in the last 12 months said it made them feel healthier

81% of employees who volunteered with their coworkers said it strengthened their relationships

74% of employeessay their job is more fulfilling when they are provided with opportunities to make a positive impact on social and environmental issues

78% of employees want to play an active part in helping their company improve its responsible business practices with feedback, ideas and solutions

Get the Ball Rolling in Your OrganizationThe majority of charitable giving is from individual contributors, which means employees are probably participating in some form of giving even if their employer doesn’t have corporate philanthropy. If their organization were to enact such a program, the movement would be welcomed by many with great participation rates. Of course, it’s not that simple, so start slowly.

Sometimes the perfect next step lies right within the people who come to your offices every day. Get the ball rolling by really looking at your organization’s core values and culture and seeing how those align with the community around you. As Lavine suggests, the best way to appeal to a broader audience (and drive participation and impact) is by finding those unique connections. Incorporating options that allow employees to choose their own charity with volunteering hours and gift matching helps continue to build those connections.

Providing your employees experiences that will aid their development and happiness is great and seeing amazing revenue boosts is always welcome, but giving back to your community is worth so much more than how it helps your business. Employee giving programs and corporate social responsibility makes your company more human and shows the heart of your people at its best.

If you need help building your program, we at CyberGrants have a few connections and expertise of our own. Contact us to see how we can help yourcorporate philanthropythrive.